Construction concrete, particularly that used for roads and structures, has long been the mainstay of the American infrastructure. However, the use to which it is put is limited by the concretes strength. It has been the goal for many years to strengthen cement through the use of certain additives and alternative mixtures. One approach to strengthening concrete consist of adding fibers, such as those made of fiberglass, nylon .sup..RTM., polypopylene, or other fibrous materials to the concrete mixture. The addition of these fibers increases the tensile strength of the hardened mixture. It is therefore common to dose a large quantity of concrete with a quantity of these fibers prior to hardening. One of the problems with adding fibers is that they tend to clump together and do not evenly distribute throughout the concrete mixture. There is, therefore, a need for the development of an apparatus which will evenly distribute fibrous material throughout a concrete mixture and insure that the fibers are evenly distributed in the aggregate.
Generally, there are two ways in which concrete is made. The first method is known as the batch method. Simply put, it occurs when an individual creates only one batch of concrete at a time by adding a specified and predetermined amount of ingredients in a mixing caldron. A second common and more economical way is known as the continuous production method. In that process, concrete is continually produced on a series of conveyor belts and mixing machines and transported to its final designation.
This invention has the primary objective of delivering equal and consistent doses of fibrous material onto a continuous concrete production conveyor belt system.
Another object of this invention is to distribute the fibrous material in such a manner as to avoid unnecessary clumping or grouping of the fibers within the aggregate.